The players assailed the skeleton monsters in a frenzy, pure aggression fueling their motions.
The skeleton monsters were about to go back into hiding deep into the trees when they heard the shouts of the incoming players at them.
The players were all summoning their skills.
The skeleton monsters clenched their fists and, facing the players, gave out a loud roar.
Drahon wasn’t bothered by the roar. Perhaps the other players might be, but he wasn’t.
As the roar came, he immediately whispered into the ears of his dragon.
His dragon let out a cough, and it produced a cataclysmic roar—one that vaulted into the sky and burned seven of the skeleton monsters as it met them.
Drahon raised an eyebrow.
That easy? So his dragon could melt seven skeletons all at once with a roar.
He would cook alright, only if he had a way to control his dragon—
[ You have just awakened an item: Dragon’s Brindle]
Drahon, although surprised, was happy with the skill. It felt like he merited it, noting that a normal dragon that was meant to be ridden ought to have something to control it.
Strapped around the dragon’s snout and neck, the brindle gleamed with tiny, almost invisible letters, its leather cords threading behind the horns and anchoring to a plated chest harness.
Not wasting any more time, Drahon held the bridle and swerved to the right, avoiding a powerful gust of wind.
The gust of wind shot into Devon, whose dragon was already roaring out a swirling mass of dark fire. The fire reduced four skeleton monsters to ashes, and the dragon continued roaring, not once slowing down, moving to other monsters.
Drahon, squinting his eyes, saw that Devon’s dragon was with a bridle too. He shrugged, perhaps that was the case with everyone too.
Drahon used the Draconic Roar skill again, and now he too wasn’t stopping like Devon. His dragon continued denting the fire all over the skeleton monsters, who melted like they were wax.
Drahon could almost laugh at their profile. His system had brought them out as some tough creatures which would take a lot of time, but right now, he was reducing them to ash like it was nothing.
While Drahon and Devon took on the skeleton monsters alone, ignoring their shouts which emitted wind, the other players weren’t doing so.
A roar from their dragons couldn’t melt a skeleton, but then, instead of relying on Drahon and Devon, they improvised.
A Bronzer dragon could roar out fire, but not the kind to melt bones. And so, the players with Winterer dragons would first freeze the monsters, making the bones weak. Then, the players with Bronzer dragons would strike, blazing the stiff bones to ashes.
The players with Ploxers actually did nothing.
They only tried to hide from the roar of the monsters, watching and admiring how the other players fought.
A player with the Ploxer dragon wasn’t like that, though. She was a female who looked brave and determined. But then, determination alone couldn’t have made her that brave as to go face the skeleton monsters.
She was the player with the SSS-Rank Ploxer, and the dragon was doing pretty well.
It roared out sharp steel from its mouth, which broke the bones of the Vicious-ranked monsters. The nails went into their eyes, and all the player had to do was target their joints, which brought them down very quickly.
Seemed the other player’s suggestion was the key to her survival, target the joints.
In minutes of roaring normal fire, dark demonic fire, windy ice, sharp steels and nails, the players had managed to reduce the skeleton monsters in half.
Half was even too much.
The skeleton monsters were over eighty before, but now they were less than thirty.
Drahon and Devon paused and exchanged glances. This was the perfect time for a combo. But then, not just the both of them would be involved in the combo, the other players too. And Drahon made it clear:
"Want to try out a combo?" Drahon asked.
"What’s a combo?" the player with the SSS-Rank Ploxer dragon said.
"We all voice out our roar skills, and at the end, I shout combo—combining it to blast at the remaining monsters," Drahon explained.
"Oh, like you and the other guy did?" a player with a Bronzer dragon said.
They weren’t taking the monsters below them so seriously now.
At first, they were afraid, considering the creatures some kind of gods.
They were the highest-ranked of the skeleton monsters. And so, they ought to be stronger, faster, and more fierce.
They carried all those traits, they were definitely fiercer and more menacing, noting they had chopped off the heads of four players like it was nothing.
But where they faltered (which wasn’t their fault) was that the players got smart.
They decided to use their dragons, doing so aggressively that they didn’t allow the monsters to make use of their axes anymore.
They took control, and now, the skeleton monsters looked like mere toys to them.
They assembled in a straight line now, on their faces nothing but brutality. Even the softest players had to wear that menacing look.
They now had this flair.
"Ready?" Drahon said as he stared at the skeleton monsters who were throwing their axes at them, in a vain effort to bring them down.
The axes propelled towards their dragons, but the latter attenuated them with just soft roars.
"Now!" Drahon voiced as he went first.
He didn’t just talk this time, as he muttered the words, runes followed them and appeared in front of him:
[Draconic Roar Tier B]
The other players followed suit:
[Demonic Roar Tier A]
[Windy Ice Roar Tier C]
[Sharp Steel Roar Tier E]
[Sharp Nail Roar Tier B]
The players with Ploxer dragons said nothing.
Drahon voiced at the end.
Their dragons roared out the above listed skills, simultaneously...
And what it produced was a visceral, cacophonous gust of flames infused with nails and sharp steels.
It vaulted mid-air and descended towards the skeleton monsters who were too stupid to run.
Even though they did run, the flames would still follow them, as it seemed to have a mind of its own. And then, it swept over the monsters.
The skeletal horde writhed beneath the scorching fire, their bones cracking and blackening as dragonfire cascaded from above.
The searing heat engulfed all at once, not missing even a tiny bit of their bony bodies.
Flames licked through their hollow rib cages and eye sockets, and they let out a very loud shout, one that echoed throughout the forest.
The ancient-looking marrows burst to ash, and brittle joints fused and crumbled under the molten barrage. Some collapsed instantly, their skulls splitting like scorched porcelain, while others staggered, engulfed in flame, until nothing remained but smoldering heaps of char and cinders.
The scent of scorched bone hung heavy in the air, mingling with pain! and the ruthless stares in the eyes of the players.
Before the players could celebrate their victory, they heard the usual voice which tracks their stats, and the words in italics in the sky:
[Congratulations players, you have just killed 81 Skeleton Monsters]